UPDATE: Ethics and elections director Wayne Barnett says the commission fined Bushnell $500 after Barnett argued for a fine of "at least $1,000." Barnett says Bushnell did not give any reason for asking that the public be excluded from his hearing.

Chris Bushnell, the former top aide to Mayor Mike McGinn who was charged with an ethics violation for failing to disclose that his wife worked for a company that was bidding to help design the new seawall, had this afternoon's hearing on his alleged violation closed to the public. Would-be spectators, including me, were not allowed to attend the hearing.

Although Ethics and Elections meetings are generally public, the city's ethics code does allow certain employees charged with ethics violations to ask the commission for a closed meeting. However, in nine years of covering City Hall, I can't remember an employee making such a request.

It's also unclear whether the rules apply to former employees; I have calls in to the city attorney's office and the ethics commission to find out why Bushnell was allowed to exclude the public from his hearing.